Counting machine for counting record cards, checks, coupons, and the like



N. s. W'ELK Feb. 25; 1941.

COUNTING MACHINE FOR COUNTING RECORD CARDS, CHECKS, COUPONS, AND THE LIKE Filed July 26, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 PIC-3.7

2 Z INV OR.

Feb. 25, 1941. 5 w 2,233,149

COUNTING MACHINE FOR COUNTINGRECORD CARDS, CHECKS, COUPONS, AND THE LIKE Filed July 26, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

W ,QQJ SQM/ ATTORNEY.

N. s. WELK 2,233,149 COUNTING MACHINE FOR COUNTING RECORD CARDS, GHECKfi, COUPONS, AND THE LIKE Feb. 25, 1941.

Filed July 26, 1939 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1N VENTOR.

W ATTORNEY.

N. S. WELK Feb. 25, 1941.

COUNTING MACHINE FOR COUNTING RECORD CARDS, CHECKS, COUPONS, AND THE LIKE Filed July 26, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

H l I N. S. WELK Feb. 25, 194.1.

COUNTING MACHINE FOR COUNTING RECORD CARDS, CHECKS COUPONS, AND THE LIKE '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 26, 1939 A'ITQRNEY.

N. s. WELK 2,233,149 COUNTINGNACHINE FOR COUNTING RECORD CARDS, CHECKS, COUPONS, AND THE LIKE Filed July 26, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 32 Feb 25, 1941.

MW 5 1m BY c ATTORNEY.

V Il w M- I "m 2 l. 1/ m 8 4 m N d m v 5 a h I 9 e u .m 4 5 G s I F m 5 5 u m y a ,7 4 3 I R. 6 6 W Feb. 25, 1941. s. WELK 2,233,149

COUNTING MACHINE FOR COUNTING RECORD CARDS, CHECKS, COUPONS, AND THE LIKE- 'Filed July 26, 1939 7 Sheets-511961. 7

Patented Feb. 194i PATENT OFFICE} y 2,233,149 COUNTING MACHINE FOR COUNTING RECORD CARDS, CHECKS,

-ANDTHELIKE COUPONS,

Nelson S. Walk; Athens, Ohio, assignor to Th McBee Company, Athens, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio 1 i Application July 26, 1939, Serial No.-286,570

8 Claims. (01171-51) My invention has for its principal object to construct a machine which ensures an accurate total of the number of cards passing through the machine and to attain this object with: a high speed and simple and easy operation. a

My inventionhas for its further object to provide a counting machine which can be readily adjusted to count cards, etc. of various dimensions in length and width and thickness and to lo accomplish this with a minimum amount of adjustment.

My invention has fora further object the provision of means to mechanically stack the cards after they have been counted to facilitate their 15 removal. I My invention has for a further object the provision of means forautomatically lockingthe counter thereby preventing over-running of same and the miscounting of cards, etc. P Y l 20 My means of accomplishing-theforegoing.ob-

jectsmay be more fully comprehended by having reference to theaccompanying, drawings,"which arehereunto annexed 'andf'are" apart of this specificationinwhich: I

if Fig; lis'a' side nevanon of my'niachine showing its gear train andrnotor drive, thefrbnt or the machine being at the'left-hand side; 1 liig' 2'is a top or planyiew-of Figl. "1 on amenlarged 's-calewith-the rear or 'coriveyorendleft Fig. 3 is an enlargedside elevation "v'iew-"ot-the end f of the machine with thegear train" and motor drive and with the rear] or conveyor end .left orn r 0 Fig. ris a nlarged side elevation view or tne ai o ee ol ers, t en on. .8 Q1

and looking in the direction of the arrows;

' Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view showing the 55 counter and high speed third pair of feed rollers taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views of the spring press high speed roller;

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view of the operation of the machine showing the preliminary stacking of the cards on the conveyor belt, a card ready to be counted and the feed end of the cards to be counted;

Fig. '13 is a diagrammatic view of the counter 10 wheel being moved by a card-to be counted; and

Fig. 14 is a diagrammatic view showing card counted and counter-locked to prevent additional counting.

Similar reference numerals refer, to similar 15 parts throughout the entire specification.

As shown in the drawings in dot anddash lines, the operating mechanism is mounted entirely within acasing or container. This is done for two reasons,--one.-to give rigidity to the supporting. franiepseoond, in order toinsulate the noise of the machine as much as possible. The

container or casing is lined with somekind of soundproofing material. This I have foundfto be; necessary because the machines are used'in 5 oflices and the noise shouldbe" minimized as -I nuch.as pofs ib1e. Inside the container creasing, 1'; form a frame l. which is. carried by legs 2 and 3 ,whichgretied by cross rods 3 '."."@These,1fods support -.the,;e1ectric motor 5. which drives. the mechanism. $ide panels or plates 6 and 6f re securedto the right and ieftside'of the frame I.

' in alrginfof the bar found in practice that in" this arrangement j to facilitate their fifeedingjwThfs 'j ncliiied card s pport fmiisflbe made-adjustable because if the inclination is'toofsharp n n siiflicient, it will preventprcper feeding of he cards. By mounting the inclined card support 8 upon the slidable rods 5 and 5', once the proper justably mounted on a rod inclination is determined, it can always be maintained regardless of the size of the cards 'to be counted. The forward edge of the cards con-" tact locating plates l0 and III which are ad- These plates are provided with hubs which may be cast or formed thereon or readily attached by welding or any other convenient method of securing themto the plate. Set screws l2 and I2 are provided to secure the locating plates on rod II in a position to suit the width of the cards which are to be counted.

Angle plates l3 are attached to the locating plates l0 and Ill byscrews or any other suitable or convenient means, these plates being utilized to limit the forward movement of the cards. I mount the rod adjacent the ends .of the side panels '6 and 6'., also upon rod H, which has its ends mounted in the panels 6 and 6' which is provided with a block I4. This block I4 is provided with a vertical dovetail slot |5 to receive a caliper plate l6. This caliper plate I6 is slidably mounted in said slot and provision is made for raising and lowering it by means of an ad justing screw II which is threaded into block l4. The screw I1 is provided with a head I8 which is fitted into a horizontal slot l9 formed in the caliper Hi. This provides for a minute adjustment of the caliper I6.

The front edge of the cards rests uponthe periphery of two rolls 20 and 2| which are designed to support the ends of the cards. In practice I have found it desirable to corrug'ate the periphery of these right and left rolls 20 and 2|. The cards are fed by a feed roll 22 which is approximately the same diameter as the right and left rolls 20 and 2|. In practice I have found that this roll should be substantially 1% inches wide. It is located centrally between 'thesupport rolls 20 and 2|. The feed roll 22 may be provided with a cover of medium soft tough rubber.

' ness or it may befound desirable to make the roll entirely of rubber. This feed roll 22 is carried by a shaft 23 which passes through a bearing formed in the side plates or panels 6 and 6'. A sprocket 24 is mounted upon the shaft 23 and with chain 24 and sprocket 24" drive the belt conveyor. The opposite end of the shaft 23 is carried in a bearing formed in the right side panel 6' and is provided with a spur gear 25 which is rigidly secured in any suitable manner by a pin or set screw.

The spur gear 25 is driven in a clockwise direction by a pinion 26-which is fixedly keyed on the drive shaft 21. A pulley 28 is rigidly secured to. the shaft 21 "by set screw 29. This pulley is rotated by means of a belt .30 driven by the electric motor 5, which is, as stated, suitably mounted upon the cross rods 3' of the frame of the machine. Adjacent to and in the rear of the main feeding roll 22 I locate a roll 32 and above it a plurality of rolls 33 which Y results. The roll 33 is mounted upon shaft 33' a while the ,roll 32 is mounted upon the shaft 32'.

If so constructed, this rub-- ber should be approximately A inch in thick- Means to insure a close contact between the surface of these wringer rolls 32 and 33. is provided by means of coil compression springs 35 and 35 which exert a tension upon bearings 36 and '36 in which the shafts 32' and 33' carrying the rolls 32 and 33'revolve. ings, which are preferably made from bronze or These bearother suitable bearing metal, are provided with slots to slide in a guide out in the side plates 6 and 6. Metal plungers 31 and 31' are inserted in the coil compression springs 35 and 35'. These plungers provide an enlarged surface at the top for contact with the adjusting screws 38 and 38' which are threaded intoblocks 39 and 39 which span the gap cut in the side plates 6 and 6' to permit the insertion of the bearings 36 and 36. These blocks may be secured in place in any suitable or convenient manner. As shown, they are held by means of screws 40 and 40. The shaft 32' which carries the lower wringer roll 32 has a spur pinion 4| mounted on its extreme right hand end. This pinion is rotated by an idler gear 42 which revolves on a stud 43 fastened to theidler gear in turn is driven by gear 25. In front of the wringer rolls 32 and 33 -I mount a cross I bar 44 to which is secured a cord or sheet actu-' ated mechanism which may be in the form of a counting device 45 of standard construction. This counting device is a commercial product which is familiar to those skilled in the art and for that reason I shall not describe its construction.' 4

I remove the metal finger which is usually provided on these. counting devices and which is generally attached to the lower shaft of the counter and in its place I mount a three legged paddle wheel 46 the legs of which terminate in feet which are shaped as shown in the drawings.

The feet are adapted to contact the edge of the cardas it passes through the machine. At

the rear of the counting device 45 I mount a second set of pairs of wringer rolls 4! and 48. I have found it desirable to construct the lower roll 41 of'mledium soft rubber as that has been found most satisfactory in practice. It may be provided with a steel core 41', the ends of which are fitted into bearingsin the side panels 6 and 6'. 0n the right hand end of the core 41' I mount a spur pinion 48, the teeth of which mesh with the gear 42 and is rotated thereby. The upper wringer rolls 48 of this set, as shown, there are four of them, are preferably made of steel, Figs. 10 and 11. These rolls 48 I which are preferably mounted on ,roller or, ball bearings, 'are carried by studs 50. The antifriction bearings are necessary due to the high speed at which they rotate. In Fig. 11 I have shown one of the wringer rolls 48 in section to show the stud 50 upon which it revolves. As the construction of each of these wringer rolls is identical, I shall only describe one of them.

ner, the collar 53 is secured to bushing 54 by a press fit, the bushing 54 being locked to the shaft by set screw 54' after the desired tension upon roller 48 by spring 52 has been found to be correct. Swinging arm 5| is free to rotate a conveyor belt 55, which may be made of canvas or other flexible material with a rough surface. This belt 55 is preferably driven by a pair of wooden rolls 55'. The conveyor belt is supported by a rigid metal table 56, each side of the table is bent downwardly at a right angle and is attached by means of screws 56' to ametal pan 51 which houses the conveyor. The rollers 55' are provided with steel shafts 58, the ends of which are carried by bearings 59 and 60. The bearings 59 are fixedly secured to a belt tightening device M, which is clamped to the bottom of the pan 51, being secured in place by means of screws 62 which extend through longitudinal slots formed in the bottom of the pan, so as to permit adjustment of the belt 55. The bearings 60 are preferably pressed in the side panels 6 and 6' projecting inwardly of an inch inside of a hub 6'3, which projects from the right and left walls of the pan 51, and which are attached permanently thereto. a

The end of the pan 5'! rests upon a cross rod 51 secured to the' frame I. Upon the rods 5 and 5 I mount collars 64 which are slidably mounted thereon, set screws 64' being provided to hold the collars securely against sliding movement. These collars 64 are connected by a cross rod 65. Upon this rod 65 I mount a pair of swinging arms 56, which may be spaced apart approximately 2 inches by any suitable or desired means (not shown). The arms 55 are preferably retained in position by means of collars An axle 67 is mounted in the arms 65. Upon this axle I mount a wooden roll 68, which rotates upon the axle being rotated by friction of the conveyor belt 55. Deflector horns 69 which are approximately i of an-inch in thickness are rigidly attached to the arms 66, in any suitable or convenient manner, so that when the cards strike these horns they are guided downwardly and underneath the wooden roll 65, and intermediate it and the conveyor belt 55. v

At the outer end of the pan 51, I locate an inclined plate II which is attached by means of the hinge 10 to the pan 51, thus providing means 'for covering this portion of the' conveyor when the machine is not in use.

When the cards are conveyed to the rear they contact the inclined plate H, the surface of which is smooth, permitting them to slide upward until they have assumed approximately an upright position, when due to the resistance of the cards stacked against the plate H, the rough surface of the conveyor belt 55'will slip'beneath the lower edges of the cards,'and'this will cause additional cards to assume anupright position before'the space between the" late 'H and the roll 68 is filled. V v

.In, the front of the machineI mount a plat-- form 12. which may be secured to the side panels 6 and 6 by means of brackets 12' whichmay be weldedorrrivetedto the underside thereof, or they-may be held in position by means of screws 12". The r'ear edge of platform 12- should be located at apoint at approximately of aninch in front of the wringer rolls 32 and 33. Just above this point, I mount a hold-down plate," the rear edge of which is located at a point approximately of an inch-in front of the wringer rolls and 48. Thisplate is slotted to provide fingers 13 which extend between the rolls 33, the hold-downpl'ate I3 is attached to the platform by means of set screws 13' and is spaced from the platform by blocks"l 3"'. These blocks should be approximately of an inch wide and abut the inside of the panels 6 and 6 respectively. The auxiliary platform 14 is located between the front and rear sets of wringer rolls, the ends of this platform are bent at right angles and are secured to the right and left panels 6 and 6 in any suitable or convenient manner.

In practice I have found it desirable to construct this auxiliary platform 14 of triangular shape, in crosssection, for stiffness. A slot is provided in this auxiliary platform to provide clearance for the feet of the paddle wheel 46 to enter as it is rotated by the cards.

When the cards which are to be counted are selected, one of them is placed between the periphery of the. feed roll 22and the lower edge of the caliper l6 and the same is adjusted by means of adjusting screw ll until the space between the two is just sufficient to permit a single card to pass therebetween'.

The operation retained in their position by means of setscrews I2. I

The machine is now ready to begin the count ing operation. The motor is started and through the medium of thebelt. pulleys and-train of gears, the various rotating parts are revolved. The frictional contact against the rubber surface of the feed roll 22, on the bottom card of the stack of cards 9, will cause the bottom card to be fed rearwardly. This friction is materially increased by means of gravity due to the weight of the cards on the stack and is supplemented by the weight 3. The auxiliaryrolls 20 and 21 which are provided with corrugated surface, keep the cards balanced, the roughened surface of these rolls supplement the feeding action of the main feed roll 22. i

13 and theplat'form'n until it enters thewringer rolls 32 and" 33.

j The naturaltendency of the card'a-sit through the wringer rolls 32 and 33 is to assume;

a horizontal position. I' prevent this by the downward lnclination'of the "hold-down plate 13,; a

which positions the edge of thecardsothat'it 1 "a t i i are m ne ems i i s dle wheel 46. This inclination also prevents the cards from riding upwards and just over the heel of said foot.

As the paddle wheel rotates, the foot 45 passes through the slot 14' in the auxiliary platform 14, this. movement of the counting mechanism being clearly illustrated in Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive of the'drawings. As shown in Fig. 12, the card 9 is just contacting the foot 46', the continued movement. of the card swings the foot 46' down through an aperture 14' in the auxiliary platform until in the position shown in Fig. 13 when the counting mechanism has been operated. When in this position, the horizontal point of the cam in the counting mechanism (not shown) will have passed from under the spring which will cause the paddle wheel to assume the position shown in Fig. 14, so that the card will continue its motion without resistance until the edge of the next card appears when it will impinge upon the next foot of the paddle wheel.

The card now passes between the second set of wringer rolls41 and 48 which are preferably located about of an inch below the first set, these rolls again cause it to assume a horizontal position as soon as it is released from the first set'of wringer rolls. As the paddle wheel 46 is forced partly by the card 9 and partly by the spring action to make A; of a turn, the counting mechanism 45 registers one count and the following foot rests momentarily upon the counted card, which rests upon the platform 14. This insures that the next card which is following at a high rate of speed will be well above the counted card, and there will be no interference due to one card striking'another, and they will therefore not get out of sequence.

The wringer rolls 4'! and 48 are revolved at a higher rate of speed than the wringer rolls 32 and 33. This speed should be sufficient to advance thecards 9 approximately 40i aninch,this being permitted by the slippage between the upper wringer roll 33 and the lower one 32, thu insuring clearance between the counted card and the card following. This permits the foot-46' to complete its A; turn and enter the aperture 14' in the platform 14 before it is contacted by the edge of the following card.

After, the card passes between the wringer rolls 5o 41 and 48, the counted card drops approximately 1 /2 inches upon the conveyor belt 55, which carries it towards the rear of the machine. The surface'speed of the conveyor belt 55 is approximately 7% of that the surface speed of the card 55 being counted.

ejected from the wringer rolls 41 and 48 with av The preliminary stacking roll 58 acts as a buifer for ejected cards, causing them to pile up as shown at 68 until .the bottom card will pass under it and be conveyed to the rear. The cards are varying degree of velocity, some striking the defiector horns 69 which are provided to guide them downward under the roll 88, while others will drop upon cards previously deposited upon the conveyor 55. The roll 68 may be readily adjusted for its most efiective position, according to the size of the cards which are being counted, by means of sliding the collars 64 upon the rods and 5'. The conveyor belt as previously described, carries the cards to the rear where they contact the inclined plate 1| whichoperates to stack them in approximately an upright position, from which-they may be removed by the operator from time to time, i i

Although I have described with some degree of it should be understood that such description and drawings are merely for thepurpose of showing a' preferred concrete embodiment of my invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the -art, that many changes may be made in the details without departing from the-spirit of my invention,'and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to such showing and description except as such limitations may appear in the hereinafter appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sheet handling machine having mechanism adapted to feed sheets to a sheet stacking mechanism, two sets" of spacedpairs of wringer rolls. a sheet actuated mechanism mounted between said sets of wringer rolls, and a plurality of platforms to guide the sheet after it leaves the sheet feeding mechanism, comprising: a paddle wheel on said sheet actuated mechanism, and feet on the legs of said paddle wheel, there being an aperture in one of said platforms through which said feet pass when impinged by the sheet in passing through the machine.

2. A sheet handling machinehaving mechanism adapted to feed sheets to asheet stacking mechanism, two sets of spaced pairs of wringer rolls, said sheet actuated mechanism mounted between said sets of wringer rolls, anda plurality of platforms to guide the sheet after it leaves the sheet feeding mechanism, comprising: a paddle wheel on said mechanism, and concave feet on rolls, a sheet actuated mechanism mounted betweensaid sets of wringer rolls, and a plurality of platforms to guide the sheet after it leaves lthe sheet feeding mechanism, comprising: a paddle wheel on said sheet actuated mechanism adapted to be impinged by the edge of the sheet as it is fed by the second set of wringer. rolls, and means on said paddle wheel legs to prevent said sheets riding over the said legs, there being an aperture I in one of said platforms through which said feet the sheet in passing pass when impinged by through the machine.

4. A sheet handling machine having mechanism adapted to feed sheets-to a stacking mechanism, a sheet actuated mechanism, a support for a plurality of sheets, anda belt conveyor to convey said sheet from the sheet actuated mechanism towards the stacking mechanism comprising: a set of wringer rolls to carry a sheet from said support and cause its edge to energize said sheet actuated mechanism, and means on said sheet actuated mechanism to make certain that j the edge of the sheet will impinge the sheet actuating mechanism correctly, a second set of wringer rolls to remove said sheet from the sheet actuated mechanism.

5. A sheet handling machine having mechanism adapted to feed sheets to a sheet stacking mechanism and a sheet actuated mechanism, two

. sets of spaced pairs of wringer rolls, said sheet actuated mechanism being mounted between said sets of wringer rolls, and a plurality of platforms to guide the sheet after it leaves the sheet feeding mechanism, comprising: a paddle wheel on said sheet actuated mechanism adapted to be impinged-by the edge of the sheet as it is fed by the second set of wringer rolls, and means on said paddle wheel legs to prevent said sheets riding over the said legs.

6. A sheet handling machine'having mechanism adapted to feed sheets [to a sheet stackin mechanism, two sets of spaced pairs of wringer rolls, a sheet actuated mechanism mounted between said sets of wringer rolls, and a plurality of platforms to guide the sheet after it leaves the sheet feeding mechanism, comprising: a paddle wheel on said sheet actuated mechanism, and feet on the legs of said paddle wheel.

7. A sheet handling machine having mechanism adapted to feed sheets to a sheet stacking mechanism and a sheet actuated mechanism, two

sets of spaced pairs of wringer rolls, said sheet actuated mechanism being mounted between saidsets of wringer rolls, and a plurality of platforms to guide the sheet after it leaves the sheet feeding mechanism, comprising: a paddle wheel on said mechanism, and concave feet on the legs of said paddle wheel adapted to be impinged by the edge of the sheet as it is fed by the second set of wringer rolls.

8. A sheet handling machine having mechanism adapted to feed sheets to a sheet stacking mechanism, two sets of spaced pairs of wringer rolls, a sheet actuated mechanism mounted between said sets of wringer rolls, and a plurality of platforms to, guide the sheet after it leaves the sheet feeding mechanism, comprising: a paddle wheel on said sheet actuated mechanism, and feet on the legs of said paddle wheel, means for direct ing a. portion of each sheet into contact with said feet, there being an aperture in one of said plat forms through which said feet pass after being impinged by the sheet in passing through thl machine.

NELSON S. WELK. 

